Scale Model Reveals Clever Design at Aragon's Enigma on the Park

An inspired new design is coming to the Bloordale neighbourhood, with Aragon Properties' Enigma on the Park, a Quadrangle Architects-designed 9-storey condominium development that will add 86 units to the area near Lansdowne between Dundas and Bloor. The design of the newly released condominium development is already attracting attention from our readers thanks to its unique use of canted window edges, angled walls, and most importantly, a dynamic two-toned cladding that is sure to add visual interest.

In the image above, which faces southwest over the Enigma on the Park scale model, we get a pretty good idea of the overall design, as well as some finer contextual points. Enigma will face on to St. Helen's Avenue, with a four-storey arm of the building running along the edge of McGregor Park just to the south. Enigma's driveway leads to the taller nine-storey arm of the building, and to a bridged opening to a courtyard area.

Looking towards the courtyard, below the skybridge on Enigma on the Park's scale model, image by Craig White

The courtyard will separate the residential component of Enigma from three storeys of offices which will form the west side of the development. The offices cleverly accomplish several things, making this a desirable mixed-use development. With their placement on the west side of the site, the offices act as a buffer between condominium residents and the adjacent GO Barrie rail line, they preserve employment land in Toronto, and they help activate the site over more hours of the day, bringing more life to surroundings.

In the images both above and below, we can clearly see the brick wall which will buffer the office from the rail tracks. The project's developer, Aragon Properties, will be occupying some of the courtyard office space once the development is finished. Below, another outdoor deck provides outdoor relaxation space for office workers.

East facing view of Enigma on the Park's scale model, image by Craig White

The image above also shows the green roofs which will top both the residential and office components of the development. Green roofs improve the building and the surroundings in several ways. They serves as an energy efficiency measure, a mitigation to the building's urban heat island effect, a way of cutting down on rainwater runoff, and they help clean the air.

The green roofs won't be accessible for residents, but Enigma on the Park will be offering its residents access to podium-top amenity terraces with views over MacGregor Park and the surrounding neighbourhood to the Toronto skyline .

So Enigma on the Park makes for a very urban-friendly development for its clever land use, site plan, and green features, but you cannot ignore another aspect of it: Enigma has quite the avant garde cladding design. Featuring angled strips of alternating white and dark grey panels, the pattern emphasizes the building's complex form and atypical massing: this isn't your average Toronto building, and it's celebrating that fact.

North facing view of Enigma on the Park's scale model, image by Craig White

With such a fully thought out site plan and exterior, it won't be too surprising to learn that Engima offers 50 different floor plans for its units. Responding to the building's changing floor plates, the suites are shaped to fit the tastes and lifestyles of many prospective owners. No building can claim to offer "something for everyone", but with the amount of choice here, Enigma gets closer to the mark than most of the others.

We have added the floor plans to our dataBase file for you to look through; it's linked below. In the file you will also find lots of renderings of the building and its suites of course, as well as other information that can connect you directly with the project if you are interested. Want to get involved in the discussion on UrbanToronto? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.